Monday's data comes a week after separate figures showed the
world's third-largest economy slowed in the last quarter, raising
questions about whether Tokyo would go ahead with sales tax hikes
that some fear could derail its bid to stoke growth.

The GDP figures painted a mixed picture of firming consumer
consumption but little evidence that companies are confident
enough to start spending big on new investment and hiring more
workers.

The state of Japan's economy is a key issue for the
administration of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which is
mulling a series of sales tax hikes which could double the rate
to 10 percent by 2015.

They are seen as crucial for raising fresh revenue to chop
Japan's eye-watering national debt -- proportionately the worst
among industrialised nations -- but there are fears it could
stall Tokyo's stimulus plan, dubbed "Abenomics".

Last week, the Cabinet office said the economy expanded by
weaker-than-expected 0.6 percent from the previous quarter.

The pace of expansion also slowed on an annualised basis with a
2.6 percent increase, from a revised 3.8 percent jump in the
first quarter. Annualised data show how the economy would grow if
the quarterly performance was stretched across the full year.